Siblings
by AerinM
Summary: It's been a long day. Marla is tired. Kendra and Seth are squabbling. What is a mother to do? (no spoilers for anything)


_Just a short story about two of my favorite fictional siblings, because Dragonwatch gives me feels._

* * *

"Today we had an assembly about-"

"Magic," Seth said.

"No! It wasn't about magic! It was about _science!_" Kendra rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

"There was this guy and he made really cool bubbles! Like-"

"Really _big_ ones!" Seth interrupted again, gesticulating wildly with his hands. "And some really _tiny_ ones! And some were white! And some floated all the way to the ceiling, and-"

Marla rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand, her other hand firmly on the steering wheel of her car. _Here we go again…_

"Seth! _I_ was telling the story! _Stop!_"

He ignored his sister. "And some fell down to the floor and _some had kids in them!_"

"What?" Marla asked. "There were kids in them?"

"Yeah!" Seth exclaimed.

"You're telling it wrong!" Kendra protested.

"One kid was wearing a red sweater and - and - and-"

"AND HE WAS INSIDE A BUBBLE MOM IT WAS COOL!" Kendra shouted, covering her brother's mouth so he could talk. "There were kids on the stage and the man put them in bubbles and - eww! Seth, stop _licking_ me! _Mom!_"

"_Please_ stop harassing each other," Marla breathed out as she prayed to whatever God might exist to save her from her children's squabbling.

Unfortunately for her, the day didn't get easier. Seth locked himself in the bathroom and when Kendra knocked and finally started yelling that she needed to use the toilet, Marla decided to abandon dinner in favor of intervening. Her son unlocked the door at her demanding behest _"or else,"_ and when he opened it, Marla found the entire sink and floor positively _drenched_ in water with a squirt gun laying in the bathtub.

_Breathe, Marla. Make him clean it up._

And she did. But his shenanigans didn't stop there. Oh, no… that would've been too easy.

He found the chocolate chips she'd hidden and had several handfuls before she realized what he'd done; and if there was anything more difficult to manage than her 6-year-old son, it was her 6-year-old son _on sugar._

He ran around the house with no particular aim in mind, at least not that Marla could tell, except to annoy his sister. Kendra went from peacefully drawing pictures at the kitchen table to looking at the bookshelf in their living room - clearly trying to ignore her brother - before she simply turned and started trying to run away from Seth all the while crying for him to leave her alone.

Marla was stuck. If she left the kitchen, dinner would burn. She did speak up, however, when she saw Kendra finally lose any semblance of patience left within her as she full-on body slammed Seth to the floor and started screaming in his face while he shouted back at her.

"_Enough!_" Marla yelled, silencing both children. "That's enough! You've _both_ been arguing ever since I picked you up from daycare. You have to _stop! _The next child to say anything - I _don't_ _even care what it is_ \- is getting sent to timeout! _Do you understand me?!_"

"But she said-"

"Yes, mom-"

"That's it! _Both of you!_ Timeout _now!_"

Kendra and Seth marched to their designated timeout corners and stood facing the walls while Marla started a 5-minute timer. She then picked up her phone and sent a text message to her husband.

_When are you coming home?_

He didn't respond right away, so she put her phone back down on the kitchen counter and sighed. She knew he wouldn't be home that night - he was on a 24-hour shift at the hospital.

Her phone dinged a minute later and she picked it up to find a reply from Scott.

_Just in time for you to leave for work in the morning, _it read. _How are you? How are the kids?_

_Your son is driving me up a wall_, she replied.

_That bad, huh?_

_He found the chocolate chips._

_Oh no. _Marla could visualize her husband rubbing his face with his hands.

_Send help._

_I'll pray for you,_ he wrote back. She snorted.

_Thanks? I guess?_

_I'll be there to help you tomorrow night. I promise._

_I'll hold you to it._

The 5-minute timer went off, so Marla put her phone down and then went to talk to her children about why they were in timeout.

Dinner was a little less wild than Marla had expected it would be, but then again, she'd turned on the television and let them all watch cartoons while they were eating in an effort to try and avoid more arguments or other unwanted actions between her kids. After dinner came showers, then pajamas. Kendra and Seth were old enough now to do this part themselves - thankfully - which gave Marla some time to wash dishes before putting them to bed.

As she finished loading the dishwasher, it occurred to her that her children were being abnormally quiet - which usually meant that they were getting into something they weren't supposed to be doing. She rinsed and dried her hands, then set out in search of her little ones. When she found them, her heart melted a little.

Seth and Kendra were snuggled up together on Seth's bed while Kendra read to him. The boy rested his head on his sister's shoulder and listened intently as Kendra read about a brave knight fighting a dragon. Both kids were so focused on their story that they didn't notice their mother as she leaned against the doorway and observed the scene before her.

Marla had to admit, this was a pretty nice way to end the day. And a small part of her rejoiced internally as it exclaimed within her, "See!? They fight like cats and dogs, but _they love each other! _I knew it!"


End file.
